With New Assignments, Ander Crenshaw Vows to Fight for Fiscal Responsibility and the First Coast

On Friday, U.S. House Approprations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., named Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw as chair for the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee -- a position that had been held by South Florida Democrat U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- and to the Homeland Security and Defense Appropriations Subcommittees.

Congressman Crenshaws leadership and knowledge of defense, military, and fiscal issues made him a natural choice to sit on the Defense and Homeland Security subcommittees and to chair the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, said Rogers. I have every confidence that he will help his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make the tough decisions that are ahead, and that he will continue to serve his state and our nation well.

Crenshaw, who has represented parts of the First Coast and North Florida in Congress since 2000 when he was first elected, outlined his agenda on Friday.

Congress must enact reforms to return confidence and transparency to the appropriations process, said Crenshaw. That work includes, but is not limited to, earmark reform, cuts to wasteful spending, and a review of the failed policies of the Democratic administration that have damaged the economy and pocketbooks of all Americans."

Crenshaw indicated that he would follow in the footsteps of his predecessors -- namely the late U.S. Rep. Charles E. Bennett and the late U.S. Rep. Tillie Fowler -- in supporting the various military installations around Jacksonville.

A seat on the Defense Appropriations Committee will allow me to ensure that the needs of our nations military bases, including those in Northeast Florida, are met and that our servicemen and women have the necessary tools to wage the war on terror at home and around the globe, said Crenshaw. A central part of that national security mission is the homeporting of a nuclear aircraft carrier at Naval Station Mayport a fight I will continue until a carrier sails into Mayport.